Danger
by X-DarkEyes-X
Summary: Sam and Phil investigate a rape but end up getting too involved. Now Complete
1. hungover

Detective Sergeant Samantha Nixon was sat at her desk, head in hands, nursing a hangover. The previous night her and a few other officers had had a few too many down at the local pub. The following morning they had justified it by telling each other they had been celebrating the promotion of Eva Sharpe from Sunhill to MIT. Everyone maintained that they had to give her a proper send off but that didnt stop them from feeling dreadful this morning, however it did make them feel less guilty.

"Coffee?" said a voice in Sams ear, making her jump which in turn made her groan and raise a hand to her head.

"I'll take that as a yes then" Phil Hunter laughed as he walked towards the coffee machine.

"Black, two sugars" he said knowingly as he returned to Sams desk holding two cups.

"Thanks" she said taking one of the cups and sipping the contents." I feel better already"

"Good cause Manson wants us to work on this rape case together" he handed her a file with all the necessary information in it.

"I really cant be bothered reading this just now, just fill me in in the car"

"Fine but i think its better if I drive" he said with a smile as he walked towards the doors.

When they were sat in Phils car, he turned to a very pale, slightly naseous looking Samantha. Concealing a smile he said:

"Ok, so in a nutshell, this girl, (He handed her a picture of a pretty, young, blonde girl) Hally James, stumbled into the station this morning claiming she was raped last night. She was interviewed by Smithy and Honey and she positively identified this guy, ( He handed Sam another photo, this time of a dark haired man in his twenties) Martin Cooper, now i ran a check on him before we left the station. He was accused of rape two years ago but was never convicted due to lack of evidence. He now works in a bar at the opposite end of Canley High Street. Some tests were ran on Hally and it was discovered she had traces of Ketamine in her bloodstream."

"The date rape drug?"

"The very same. Its our job to arrest Cooper, collect the CCTV from the bar and the surrounding buildings then go back to the station and gather enough evidence to charge Cooper. I was going to suggest i do one and you do the other but on second thoughts I dont think you look up to doing much." He smirked at her as he said this.

"Come on then, lets get this over with." She sighed as her head started throbbing painfully. This was going to be a long day...


	2. The great Escape

Back at the station, Sam and Phil interviewed Cooper but could not charge him with anything because he refused to talk to them and they did not have enough evidence. There was nothing on Hally's clothes as she had already washed them last night to rid herself of all reminders of the man who raped her. The CCTV was not much use either. None of the buildings surrounding the pub had CCTV installed and the video Phil had retrieved from bar was pointing in the wrong direction.

"He obviously knew what he was doing" Sam commented, watching while Cooper was released.

"So what do we do now?" Phil asked her.

"We could get a warrant to search the pub and flat above it?"

"What good will that do?"

"Well they have to be keeping the drugs somewhere and the pub seems like a good place to start looking dont you think?"

"Ok I'll go see if I can sort it with Manson."

Half an hour later they were back down at the bar.

"Hello Martin, I'm sure you remember us? D.S Nixon, D.S Hunter, Sunhill CID."

"What do you want now? Come to arrest me again? he sneered at Sam

"One can only hope" Phil replied

"We have here a warrant to search these premises for drugs"

"Search away, you'll not find anything" Cooper said cockily.

"We'll see"

A quick search of the premises had overturnes absolutely nothing.

"I told you you wouldn't find anything" said Cooper, smirking at the two officers.

Phil shot him an evil look then turned to Sam:

"Come on Sam, lets get out of here."

but Sam had noticed something Phil had not.

"We've been here for almost forty minutes now and not once have you moved away from that door. What are you hiding Cooper?"

"Nothing!" Cooper said but there was an unmistakeable note of panic in his voice which both officers had noticed.

"Stand away from the door" Phil said stepping forward.

Reluctantly, Cooper moved away. Sam cautiously opened the dor and peered inside. It was just a bathroom, nothing extraordinary about it. Phil stayed outside with Cooper while Sam searched the room. She looked in all the cupboards, all the drawers and behind all the items on the shelves. Nothing. She was about to exit whenshe thought of one place she hadn't checked. She turned around and lifted the top off of the toilet cistern. Sure enough, wedged between the side of the cistern and a small pipe was the ketamine drugs they were looking for. Pulling them out she turned to Phil:

"look what I found" she said smiling. Cooper looked terrified for a moment then a look of determination came over his face. He summonded all his strength and pushed Phil who was caught by surprise and hit the wall opposite before sinking down to the floor in a daze.

After checking he was ok, Sam ran down the stairs after Cooper but stopped at the bottom as a fresh wave of naseau swept over her making her bend over and clutch her stomach. By the time she had recovered, Copper was nowhere to be seen and as she didn't even know which way he had went she gave up. Cursing, she slammed the door and headed back upstairs to Phil.


	3. A false alarm and a break in

Samantha and Phil both walked out of D.I Mansons office in silence but the moment the door was closed they both burst out laughing. They had just been reprimanded by a furious D.I Manson for letting Cooper slip through the net once again. Phil was amusing Sam by doing an impression of their boss while he was yelling himself hoarse at the pair of them. Sam found this immensly funny until she glanced up and saw Manson glaring at them through his window. Stifling her laughter she sat down and got on with her paperwork and didn't look up until she was sure he was gone.

"Sam" Phil called to her as he walked from his desk to hers.

"I just had P.C Noble on the phone, she's spotted someone who matches Coopers description. Shes keeping a low profile until we get there." he said as he headed for the exit beckoning to Sam to follow him.

* * *

"Yes that definately looks like him" Sam said as she and Phil sat at a distance watching the young man lean against the park railings and light a cigarette.

"If only he'd take off his baseball cap we'de know for sure."

The guy they were watching ceratinly matched the description distributed earlier. He had white skin, was about 5ft 9 in height, wearing a red, baggy, hoody, blue jeans and white trainers. They just couldnt tell if it was him or not with that cap on..

"Do you think we should go arrest him?" Phil asked.

"No, cause it might not be him and we'll get another rollocking from the D.I if we arrest the wrong guy." Phil smiled at this but said nothing.

Sam looked up at him and saw the huge, swollen bruise that had developed on his temple from when Cooper had thrown him against the wall. It looked nasty. Sam opened her mouth to say something about it when Phil groaned:

"Oh no" he said as he opened the car door.

Sam turned to see what was happening and saw Smithy and Yvonne running towards Cooper who legged it along the path towards the canal. Phil got out and joined the chase while Sam started the engine and sped off down the road . She knew where Cooper was heading and put her foot down to ensure she got there first. She screetched the car to a halt at the side of the road and ran towards the alley where he would be emerging from any moment now. She looked round the corner and saw him running towards her, looking back at Phil who was stilll chasing him. Sam hid herself from view and waited until he was metres away from her before springing out and causing him to run into her, knocking her to the ground. Phil jumped on top of him, grabbed his hands and cuffed his wrists before dragging him back to his feet and turning him around.

"Uh oh"

Sam looked up from where she was still sitting on the ground.

"What is it?" Phil spun the suspect around to face and she let a groan. It wasn't Cooper.

They took him back to the nick anyway because he'd run from the police in the first place making them suspicious.

* * *

"Yvonne" shouted Sam as she spotted her in the corrider.

"Sarge?"

"You interviewed that bloke we nicked didn't you? Who was he?"

"Noone important sarge. He sells stolen goods to make money to help support his kid."

"Oh right, well thanks Yvonne."

"No problem, you coming for a drink later sarge?"

Sam laughed: "No, Im still recovering from last night"

* * *

She headed back up to CID to collect her bag from her desk.

"See you tomorrow Sam" Phil called from his desk where he was writing a report on what had happened earlier.

"Yeh good night Phil"

Ten minutes later, Sam pulled up outside her dark house. She lokked up at it and sighed. Feeling a bit lonely, she opened the door and walked inside noticing how cold it was. She sighed again, she must have left a window open. After she turned the heating up she walked to the kitchen to put the kettle on but froze in the doorway. The back door windiw had been smashed and the door was lying wide open. Taking out her phone to call Phil, she turned away to go back and wait in her car when she heard movement behind her. She went to turn back around but a pair of hands grabbed her from behind. She tried to scream but one of the hands was placed firmly over her mouth so she couldn't make a noise.

"I have a gun here" a familiar voice whispered behind her.

"You try anything, any smart moves, I'll kill you!"


	4. captured

The man pushed her to the ground and sat down beside her, pulling her handcuffs out of her pocket and a roll of duck tape out of his

"Martin?" Sam asked nervously.

"How did you guess?" he sneered at her before pulling her upright so was kneeling.

"Give me the phone...I said GIVE ME THE PHONE!" He yelled the last four words in her ear making her jump which made him smile.

He loved the feeling of being in control of a police officer. With trembling hands, Sam passed him her phone. He grabbed it off her and stamped shattering it and rendering it useless.

He grabbed her hands, pulled them behind her back and cuffed them using Sams own handcuffs. He then pulled a bit of duck tape off the roll and placed it firmly over her mouth before dragging her upright by her hair and roughly shoving her forwards out the door and into the boot of his awaiting car.

Sam couldnt remember ever being more scared and the tears rolled down her cheeks as the car was reved to life and she was driven away.

She fully expected to be stuck in the car for hours but they had only been driving for about a minute before the car came to a halt and the engine died. She could hear cars passing and people laughing in the distance and knew she must be in one of the neighbouring streets. She waited for the boot to open, for him to drag her out and into some house where he could do whatever he fancied to her. Her blood ran cold as she remembered he was a rapist. Bracing herself for whatever came next, she looked up with a determined look on her face. She was not going to give Cooper the satisfaction of knowing how scared she was.

She waited one hour, then two, then three and still the boot was not opened. Just as she thought he might have abandoned her there she heard footsteps getting closer...closer...

The boot was flung open and before Sam had time to compose herself, he reached in and grabbed her, hauling her out of the boot where she collapsed on the ground. She was stiff and sore from being shut in that tiny space for hours.

"Get up!" he yelled at her.

She picked herself up from the ground and tried to steady herself. As she took in her surroundings she recognised the street as the one next to hers. She looked around her for a sign of life. Suddenly Sam realised why she'd been left in the boot for hours. There was no one around, no one to help her and every house was dark.

It must be the early hours of the morning she thought. Everyone would be asleep and if she called out through her gag Cooper would kill her.

To steer her mind away from these thought, she looked at the house in front of her. It looked like her own and it too was dark. It was in here, Cooper dragged her. He let go of her when they were inside and the door was locked and bolted. He dragged her up the stairs, up to the top floor then pushed her up a ladder into the attic. It smelt mouldy and was freezing cold. Sam shivered as she was pushed into a chair which sat in the corner of the room. Cooper unlocked her handcuffs and produced two lengths of rope: one for each arm.

When he was sure she was tied tightly enough and still firmly gagged he smirked at her and left, climbing backwards down the ladder leaving her with nothing but her thought.

She couldn't stop the tears coming now. She felt so alone and so scared. She thought of Phil, wondered waht he was doing now. He would probably be asleep, completely oblivious to the danger Sam was in.

She knew no one would have have noticed she was missing and no one would realise until morning when swhe didn't show up for work. This thought did nothing to comfort her as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She would be spending at the very least the remainder of the night tied to a chair, gagged and with only a rapist for company.

Samantha had never felt more alone


	5. Disappearance

The following morning, Phil Hunter walked into Sunhill CID and headed in the general direction of his desk. The first thing he noticed was that Sam was not there yet which struck him as strange because she was usually there early. He smirked to himself as he thought of what the D.I would say if Sam was late.

He settled himself at his desk and buried himself in his overdue paperwork. An hour later, he looked up and was surprised and a little anxious when he saw that Sam had still not made an appearance. He got back to his paperwork but looked up hopefully everytime the door opened. He was worried about her now. She would never turn up this late without phoning in before hand.

He dug deep in his pocket, pulled out his mobile and punched Sams home number in. No answer. He tried her mobile instead but his anxiety increased when he was told this number was no longer in use.

Without wasting a moment more, he got up and headed straight for D.C.I Jack Meadows office. Knocking twice, he walked in without waiting for a reply.

"D.S. Hunter?"

"Guv its Sam. Shes not turned up yet, shes not answering her house phone and her mobiles out of use." he said in a rush.

"Calm down Phil" Jack said seeing how agitated his sergeant was. Even though he was worried about Sam, Jack had to conceal a smile as he thought back to the days when Sam and Phil were constantly at each others throats and found it hard to be in the same room as each other. Now here was one clearly worried because the other was an hour late.

"Give her half an hour Phil. If shes not in by then come back and see me."

"Guv" Phil said as he left the room to back to his desk.

He spent the next half hour staring out the window, willing Sams silver car to come round the corner and into the car park but he wasn't in luck. When the thirty minutes had passed he went back to the D.C.I's office.

"She's still not turned up guv" Phil said trying to keep the growing panic out of his voice. "Ive tried her house and mobile three times and I still can't get through."

"Right come on, we'll go round to her house and see whats happening."

Phil gasped as pulled up outside Sams house. The front door was lying wide open and her car was still parked infront. Now Jack was worried too but hid it from Phil. Both of them took their asps out and cautiously proceeded into the house.

"guv" Phil said faintly as he spotted the roll of duck tape on the floor. Jack stared at it for a minute before walking to the kitchen. He spotted the broken window and turned to Phil.

"Phil, put a call out over the radio. It looks like D.S Nixons been abducted."


	6. In the attic

Back in the attic, Sam was looking around for a means of escape.'Anything sharp' she thought to herself but she couldn't see anything that could help her so she went back to doing what she had been doing for the last few hours: Trying to wriggle her hands under the rope to free herself but all she had achieved so far was severe rope burn.

Without warning the door banged open and Cooper was stood in the doorway holding a tray. He set the tray down on a box next to Sam and leered down at her.

"This will hurt" he said, smiling as he ripped the tape off her mouth. Sams eyes watered with pain but she tried not to show it in her face. Cooper smirked and picked up a slice of toast. Knowing she must be hungry, he took a bite and watched for her reaction while chewing away noisily. Sam was determined not to show any weakness and continued to watch as Cooper devoured the slice of toast, however, her resolution was weakened as her stomach chose that unfortunate moment to rumble very loudly.

"Hungry?" Cooper asked her sarcastically as he started on a second slice. When he had finished that he picked up a third and held it to Sams lips. She hesitated for a second before leaning forwards and taking a bite. The toast was cold and dry and caught in her dry throat making her cough. Cooper helped her with a glass of water before backing away a little and sitting on a cardboard box, all the while not taking his eyes off her.

"Why did you take me? What do you want with me?" Sam asked with a hint of panic in her voice.

Cooper continued to look at her with a slight smirk on his face.

"Why won't you tell me?"

There was a long pause before Cooper spoke.

"I guess I took you to get rough justice for my mother."

"Why? What happened to her?" Sam asked confused.

Cooper stood up and looked down at her

"She was murdered. By my dad. He beat her up every night for over a year and the police did nothing to stop it. One night he got carried away and he killed her." His face softened as he spoke, as he reminisced about his past.

He stared down at Sam for a second before his expression changed again to a look of loathing.

"You could have saved her from him but you did nothing! Thats why your here now, you started interfering in my life. It made me mad that you seemed to care so much about the drugs and you couldn't give a damn about my mother! Your going to pay for what your lot did to her!"

Sam let him talk without interrupting him. She watched as he lapsed into silence and stood before her breathing deeply with a wild look in his eyes. Her instincts told her to keep him talking at least until he had calmed down. He would be less likely to hurt her that way.

"Im sorry about what happened Martin but I'm sure the police did all they could."

"They let her go back to him time and time again without a thought for her safety!"

"If she refused to give a statement saying what was happening then theres nothing we could have done."

Cooper stood and looked at her for a second before sinking back down onto the box.

"Whats your name?"

"Sam" she said trying hard to keep her voice steady.

"That would be short for Samantha I'd imagine?"

Sam nodded her head and stared determinedly into his cold, blue eyes.

"Well Samantha, I promised myself when my mum died that I'd get revenge on the people who killed her."

He stood up, the wild look in his eyes back, and walked around so he was standing behind her. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he bent down and whispered in her ear:

"It's time for you to pay for what you did..."


	7. A step closer

Sam opened her eyes. Her head was thumping, her vision was blurry and her body was aching all over.She struggled to remember what had happened. She remembered talking to Cooper but not what they were talking about.

She felt sticky and wet and her stomach lurched as she looked down and saw she was covered in blood. Suddenly all her memories came flooding back to her. Coopers father had killed his mother, he blamed the police for not protecting her and he had snatched Sam to get revenge on the force. She remembered him telling she would have to pay for what had happened and then he proceeded to beat her into unconciousness.

She sat perfectly still on the uncomfortable wooden seat so she didn't jar her aching head and closed her eyes as if trying to block out the pain. She thought of Phil, wondered what he was doing just now, wondering how close they were to finding her. She felt so tired and so numb that it wasn't long before her exhaustion carried her off to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the station, most of the CID officers , including Phil, were gathered around the whiteboard listening to the D.I and the D.C.I talking. Phil knew he should be listening but he couldn;t help his thought wandering to Sam. He was staring at the picture Neil had just placed on the board.

It showed Sam smiling, her blonde hair loose around her shoulders. Phil couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked with the sunlight hitting her hair and her green eyes, making them sparkle. He shook his head slightly trying to remove these thoughts, he shouldn't be thinking about her like that. His thoughts were interrupted by Jack telling him to get down to Sams street and organise a door to door.

Almost an hour later, Phil, Dan and Honey were standing at the end of the street, having knocked on every door but still no closer to finding Sam than they were that morning. They were about to give up and go back to Sun Hill when Will shouted on them from round the corner. Phil ran round to the next street, with every step he took, his hopes getting higher that they had found a new lead. He could see Will crouched down by a red car examining somwthing small and black.

"It's Sams warrant card sarge" he said as Phil got closer. "I found it just under this car."

Will radioed in for a vehicle check.

"This car is registered to a Mr Martin Cooper" Dean said through the radio.

"Martin Cooper? Thats the guy me and Sam were after the day she disappeared. Get forensics down here to examine the car."

* * *

Meanwhile, from the attic room of the house which Phil was standing in front of, Martin Cooper was hidden behind the blinds watching the officers on the road outside.

"Looks like your friends have almost found us." He whispered to a sleeping Sam.

"But don't worry, I'll make sure they never get you back..."


	8. Almost Free

Cooper was still standing at the window when Sam opened her eyes. She had dreamt that Phil had come bursting into the attic room just as Cooper was about to strangle her, overpowered and arrested him then swept Sam up into his arms and carried her to safety. He had been so brave and macho that she woke up smiling. It had seemed so real to her that she was disappointed when she realised she was still with Cooper and had not yet been found. She even looked round to see if Phil was hiding in the corner but was brought back to reality when she realised the only other person in the room was Cooper.

She could see from her position that he looked absolutely exhausted. His blue eyes looked very red and reluctant to stay open. Without warning, he turned and looked straight into her green ones.

"Your friends almost found us earlier Samantha. They were right outside and they didn't even look up. Must be pretty dim." He added with a smile.

Sam felt fear and panic build up inside her. If Cooper was telling the truth then Phil had been mere metres away and still hadn't found her. She thought if they had searched the street and not found her it was unlikely they would ever come back.

Some of what she was feeling must have showed in her face for Cooper was smirking at her from the opposite end of the room.

Again, her instinct told her to talk to him, to keep him from harming her.

"You look really tired Martin. Did you not sleep well last night?" Her voice was weak and croaky from not being used for so long.

Cooper stared at her for a minute then started walking towards her. Sam noticed something sticking out his back pocket as he got closer: a mobile phone.

He sat down on the box infront of her.

"No, I didn't actually Samantha, and it's nice to know you care" he added sarcastically." I was thinking about you. I was wondering what I'm going to do with you. I'm going to have to take you somewhere no one will ever find you cause your never going back to those police friends of yours."

He had a look of pure spite on his face.

Sam was listening to him but not taking any of this in. She was trying to figure out a way in which she could get hold of the phone."Well first things first. I need to get him to untie me" she thought to herself.

"Erm..Martin? I...erm...I need to use the bathroom."

He sighed and got up, walked over to her and untied her arms.

" Im warning you. One false move..."

He pulled her over to the hatch, opened it and climbed down the ladder, dragging her down behind him. He waited outside while she used the bathroom, grabbed her the moment she emerged and pushed her back up the ladder. She stood at the top, waiting or him to get up and thought how good it was to be able to stretch her legs.

"Ok" She said to herself " I now need to find a way to stop him binding me again."

Cooper roughly grabbed her arm and threw her back into the chair then picked up one of the lengths of rope.

"Martin? Would you mind leaving those off for a while, only my arms are really sore" she said, indicating the rope burn on her wrists.

Cooper gave a laugh.

"You must think I'm really stupid Samantha." He tried to grab her arm but she pulled it away.

"Why not? I still can't get out of here. The hatch is locked and we're far too high up to jump from the window."

She tried to look innocent. He hesitated for a second then let go of her arm.

"Fifteen minutes."

Sam smiled gratefully at him. Her arms were agony from the rope burn and also from the beating she had recieved earlier. He backed away and sat down, staring at her. His expression seemed to soften as he looked into her round, scared looking eyes.

"I am sorry you know" he whispered "I know my mothers death had nothing to do with you personally but your a copper and it was the coppers fault."

He got up again and moved towards her. Sam could see tears in his eyes as he removed some of the dry blood from her face and felt shocked but pleased with this show of emotion. It meant she was making progress.

She watched as he sat back down and leant against the wall. His eyelids were beginning to droop. Sam slowly placed her arms back on the arm rests so there would be less chance of him noticing she wasn't tied there and sat in silence as he drifted off to sleep but her insides were jumping for joy. She knew she was almost free.

Cooper was snoring loudly within minutes. Very slowly, Sam got to her feet. She winced with pain as she tiptoed towards the exit, moving as slowly and quietly as possible. She knew this may be her only chance of escape and she wasn't going to screw it up. She bent down slowly, her arm outstretched, reaching for the handle when the floorboard beneath her creaked...really loudly.

She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the blow...but it didn't come. Cooper was still fast asleep. Breathing a sigh of relief, she grasped the handle and pulled but it was locked and the keys were deep in his pocket. She considered trying to smash it open but that would just wake Cooper and even if it did open, she would never make it out the house. Extremely disappointed, she stood up and turned back.

Something caught her eye. The phone. It was sticking out Coopers pocket. Very slowly, Sam edged towards him and bent down. She knew this was a very dangerous situation and he could wake up at any minute. One wrong move...

She was pulling it gently towards her, praying he wouldn't wake up. Almost there...Just a little bit further...she was holding the freed phone in her trembling hands and Cooper was still asleep. Relief washing over her, she punched in Phils number.

* * *

Phil was sat at his desk in CID when his phone rang.

"This better be important" he muttered grumpily as he extracted his phone from his pocket. He didn't recognise the number.

"Hello, D.S Hunter?"

"Phil it's me" Sam said said softly. Her voice was shaking.

"Sam!" Phil shouted, alerting the whole of CID as to what was happening.

"Sam where are you? are you ok? Has he hurt you?"

"Im ok Phil, Im..." There was a long pause.

"Sam?...Sam you still there?" Phil asked, his panic rising with every second.

"SAM!" He yelled down the phone.

The line had gone dead.


	9. Attempted Assault

Sam was lying on the floor, looking up at Cooper. He had woken up and grabbed her from behind just as she was about to tell Phil where she was. He had grabbed the phone off her and thrown it out the window then pushed her to the floor. She lay there, slightly dazed, looking up at him...fear gripping her and rooting her to the spot. Her eyes grew wider with every step closer he took. She was visibly trembling now, he was directly above her with a wild look on his face.

"That was a very bad move Samantha. You'll pay for that one."

Sam knew what was coming next.

* * *

Back in Sunhill, Phil was standing in the D.C.I's office recounting his and Sams conversation word for word.

"Right" said Jack when Phil had finished speaking. "I'll get a trace on the call but don't get your hopes up Phil. If Cooper caught her with the phone he probably dragged her off somewhere else."

"He might not have caught her" Phil said hopefully. "Maybe the battery ran out or maybe it ran out of credit or..." he trailed away until he was barely whispering. He didn't believe what he was saying. He knew the most likely scenario was that Cooper had caught her talking to him and wrestled the phone off her before she revealed their whereabouts.

He turned to the exit when Jack called him back.

"Oh, Phil"

"Yes guv?"

"We got the forensics results back from the car. They found traces of Sams hair in the boot and uniform have been unable to track Martin Cooper down. It seems definate that he has her. I want you to organise a search of the street the car was parked in. They must be nearby. I can't see him driving only one street away from Sams house only to park the car and drag her off somewhere else."

"Guv" Phil said as he left the room.

* * *

"Did you really think you could escape that easily?" Cooper sneered as Sam. "I told you your not going back to them and you just made a huge mistake." he said as he grabbed her by the back of her neck and dragged her to her feet. He tore her coat off her shoulders, threw it on the floor and started roughly unbuttoning her blouse.

He was deaf to her pleas as he undressed her. Getting frustrated, he ripped the buttons off and threw her shirt away then pushed her back onto the boxes.

She recoiled as he touched her, now trying to unzip her trousers...he was going to rape her. She knew this was coming all along. He had raped at least two other women before. Now, she knew it was her turn.

The tears fell from her eyes as she struggled to push him away, he was still fiddling with the zip. "Any minute now" she thought to herself as he finally got the zip down. He looked down at her with a manic glint in his eyes.

"And now Samantha, you will get whats coming to you"

* * *

Phil and a lot of uniformed officers entered the street from the opposite end and started banging on doors and searching buildings, looking in garages, sheds, even behind trees and in bushes. They slowly made their way down the street, searching each house top to bottom. Phil was getting desperate. He tried to keep images out of his head of what he might be doing to her just now. If he _had_ caught her on the phone he could be doing anything to punish her. Beating her, raping her, torturing her...murdering her...he thought with a shudder. He tried not to think what she might look like when they found her. "She might even be dead now" he thought with a sickening jolt.

* * *

Back in the attic, Cooper was standing by the window, pale and scared looking. Sam was sat in the corner, relief washing over her. Just as he had been about to force himself on her, the officers had started banging on doors and shouting on people to open up. Cooper had pulled away from her and left her semi-naked in the corner while he stood by the window watching the officers progress slowly towards them, wondering what the hell he was going to do now. They were coming closer with every second and he knew he had only minutes to think of a plan.

Sam scrambled back into her clothes and sat in the corner...watching...waiting for someone to find her. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered her dream in which Phil was so brave and muscly and had come barging into the attic without a thought for his own safety, his only concern being Sams wellfare. She wondered if he would do that for real.

Cooper turned suddenly, grabbed Sam by her collar and hauled her to her feet. She let out a cry of pain as he handcuffed her hands tightly behind her back, the metal was digging into her already bruised and burned wrists making them more painful than ever. He turned her round and pushed her down the ladder. She clamboured down with difficulty: it was hard with no hands. She was dragged down the stairs and into the hall.

* * *

Phil walked briskly up the garden path and banged on the door while yelling for someone to open up. Sams heart leapt and she felt very comforted at the sound of Phils voice. Some of her pain seemed to ebb away. Cooper left her standing there in the hall while he turned into the kitchen.

There was a huge crash and Sam screamed. The door flew open to reveal Phil and Honey standing on the steps, asps at the ready, shocked at the sight of her covered in dried blood.

"Sam" Phil whispered as he dropped his asp and ran towards her, ready to enfold her in his arms.

"Back off. Stay away from her" came a voice from the kitchen. Phil stopped...feet from Sam who looked numb.

Cooper emerged holding a gun which he pointed directly at Sams head.

"Let me past or I'll shoot her."

Phil had no choice but to stand aside.

"Keys" Cooper said to him, his hand outstretched. Phil dropped his car keys into it while tears welled up in his eyes.

He felt so helpless as he watched Cooper drag Sam out of the house and throw her into the back of his car. A tear rolled down his cheek as she disappeared round the corner.

She was once again at Coopers mercy...


	10. Found but Unreachable

"Vehicle is heading North along Waterside Street, about to turn left into Murray road" Honey said into her radio. Her and Will were in pursuit of the red Peugeot which Cooper was driving. "Guv he'll have to turn left at the end of Murray road due to roadworks and then its just one really long road. If you hurry, you could cut him off at the other end."

"Recieved Honey, we're on our way." Jack said as he left the station with Phil in tow.

* * *

"Come on guv! Hurry up we're gonna miss him!" Phil said frantically as Jack drove 70mph through the small streets to get there in time.

"Guv he's going too fast" came Honeys voice "It's too dangerous. We are no longer in pursuit."

"Ok Honey, we're almost there, just around the corner."

The car went skidding to a halt at the side of the road and Phil jumped out.

"Help me guv!" he yelled as he pulled a stinger from the boot.

Together, they dragged it along the road and spread it out from one side of the road to the other, then for good measure, layed another one out a little bit further up. They then stood at the side of the road and waited.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam was sitting in the back seat terrified. Cooper was going about 80mph down a little road, weaving in and out of other cars. She had no seat belt on and her hands were cuffed behind her back so if they crashed there was nothing to stop her hurtling through the windscreen.

* * *

"Here they come guv" said Phil nervously as he spotted the red car in the distance. Jack crossed to the other side of the road. They watched as the car got closer and closer, weaving recklessly around a car and narrowly missing a group of pedestrians as they crossed the street.

Phils heart was in his mouth as he watched. He could make out Cooper in the driving seat and could just about see Sam behind him.

Copper saw the police car sitting at the side of the road. His eyes travelled onto Phil then to the road infront where the stinger lay ready. He skidded the car to a halt just in time and tried to turn round to go back but found the road blocked by another car. He wasn't giving up yet though he thought as Jack and Phil ran towards them.

Wrenching the door open, he dragged Sam out by her hair and pressed the gun into her temple.

"Move that thing and let me pass" he said threateningly. "I said move it! Or I'll blow her brains out!"

Jack had no choice but to move the stinger.

As this was happening, Phil was watching Sam, he couldn't help but think how beautiful she was, even covered in blood. Her eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat, little realising that a few metres away, Sams did the same. She gave him a tiny smile which quickly turned into a grimace as Cooper dragged her backwards by her hair and opened the boot of the car.

"Get in" he yelled at her then threw her in and slammed the door shut. "Don't you dare try to follow me!" Copper said. He was sweating heavily and shaking like a leaf.

"There will be no need for that" Jack murmered to Phil as Cooper drove off. "The second stinger is just up there and he's going too fast to stop in time."

Phil smirked and turned to watch.

* * *

Sam was lying on her side in the boot, curled up into a ball, trying to listen to what was going on. She could hear Cooper yelling something then the engine had roared to life and she banged her head as they sped off. Sam resigned herself to the worst, knowing that Phil and Jack had been forced to step aside. She was beginning to wonder if they'd ever reach her when there was a loud bang followed by a screeching sound.

Sam didn't have a clue what was going on. She could hear Cooper screaming from the front seat then there was a huge crash... a shooting pain then everything went black...


	11. Safe at last

Phil and Jack had watched as the car drove over the stinger. With at least two flat tyres, the car spun out of control, careered off the road and crashed into a wall by the side of the pavement.

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Sam..." Phil whispered in a daze, then he seemed to come out of his state of shock and ran towards the vehicle.

"SAM!" he yelled, as he got closer he could see Cooper in the front seat, breathing heavily with a blank look on his face.

Phil reached the back end of the car and thrust the boot open, hardly daring to look inside. Sam was lying there on her side, breathing shallowly, her eyes closed.

"Sam?" Phil whispered again as he reached in and lifted her unconcious form out of the boot and layed her on the ground.

"Its gonna be ok Sam" he told her gently as he wrapped his arms protectively around her."Everythings gonna be ok now."

* * *

Sam could hear someone talking to her. She thought it might be Phil but wasn't 100 sure. She struggled to remember what had happened, her brain was working very slowly. She didn't even have the energy to open her eyes. She lay perfectly still, listening to Phils voice when another one sounded over his. Sam instantly recognised this voice as Coopers and a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of her stomach. She felt panicky and tried to move but her limbs felt like lead. She gave up with the knowledge she was now safe in Phils arms.

* * *

The next few hours were a blur for Sam. She was in a lot of pain and kept slipping in and out of conciousness. There were a lot of people surrounding her, talking all at the same time. She wondered vaguely what was happening, why there were so many people there and why she was moving but she was really past caring what she did or where she went next.

* * *

Phil went in the ambulance with Sam, all the while holding her hand and speaking words of comfort to her, unsure whether or not she could hear him.

When they reached St. Hughs, Phil was told to go to the waiting room while they wheeled Sams limp form away.

He went to the room and paced up and down, too anxious to sit. He was terrified he was going to lose Sam. She had looked badly injured. What if she didn't pull through? or what if she did but was permantly injured or disabled? These thoughts chased each other round Phils head. He couldn't wait for the nurse to come back but at the same time feared her arrival because of the news she would undoubtedly bring.

He felt like he'd been pacing for hours before the nurse entered the room. Phil was stood infront of her in a flash, bombarding her with questions.

"Hows Sam? Is she gonna be ok? Where is she?"

"Calm down Mr Hunter. Miss Nixon is stable. She mainly just has cuts and bruises, no broken bones or internal damage, but we're keeping her in for observation and because of her head injuries. She's slightly dazed and seems to be in a state of shock but she'll make a full recovery. If you'll follow me I'll take you to see her now."

"Wait..." Phil hesitated. He had just remembered a fact about Cooper that made his blood run cold."D-did he rape her?"

He held his breath waiting for the answer.

"There is no sign of sexual assault"

Relief flooded through Phil as he followed the nurse out of the room.

She took him into a ward and pointed to a bed on their left. Sam was lying on her back, her blonde hair, loose around her shoulders and her face covered in bruises and small injuries.

Phils eyes filled with tears as he looked down at her. She looked so small and vulnerable, he wondered how anyone could ever hurt her.

He sat down on the edge of her bed and put his hand over hers. Her eyes opened and travelled slowly up to meet his. She gave him a weak smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Phil asked her gently.

"Numb" Sam whispered. She tried to sit up but Phil held her still.

"Lie still Sam. Everythings ok now. Your safe, we've got Cooper, he's been checked over and arrested and the doctor said that your gonna make a full recovery so you have nothing to worry about." Sam smiled at him again.

* * *

They chatted for about an hour, Sam doing her best to forget what had happened and Phil doing his best to cheer her up but pretty soon he knew he had to tell her what was really on his mind.

"Sam..." he began, not knowing exactly how he was going to continue."Me and you have been best friends for a long time and I was pretty sure that was all we were but...erm...well, when you went missing, I began to feel something else for you... something more than friendship...I think I've been feeling this for a long time deep down but I've ignored it because I was scared of how you'd react and I don't want to lose your friendship."

He took a deep breath and looked up into her her startling green eyes.

"Sam...I think I'm falling in love with you..."


	12. will she wont she

That night, Sam lay in turmoil. She couldn't believe the things that Phil had said to her. He had left straight after he had blurted out that he loved her leaving Sam with nothing but her thoughts which were very jumbled at the moment. If she was honest with herself, she did like Phil...a lot...but she didn't think she was ready for a relationship, especially after what she had just been through.

* * *

Phil was at home, lying flat out on top of the bed, fully clothed. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. He kept replaying the scene in his head then thinking about it from Sams point of view. No wonder she'd remained silent.

He had loved her deep down for years and a single tear ran down his cheek as he realised he could have blown everything in a matter of seconds.

As he sat up on the bed, he replayed those few seconds again. His arms gave way and he slumped against the wall. Head in hands, he sobbed uncontrollably as he thought him and Sam could never go back to just friends now.

* * *

Sam didn't sleep until the early hours of the morning. She couldn't stop these thoughts about Phil from coming. She liked him and thought he was gorgeous but she wasn't sure if she wanted a relationship with him. She had been there to see his numerous affairs and one night stands, his marriage breakdown and the birth of his two children to different mothers. She thought to herself that he is not the kind of man she had dreamt of marrying since she was a child but she couldn't ignore these feelings any longer.

Sam slowly drifted into a very uneasy sleep and found herself dreaming about her ex-husband, Glen. She dreamt about how nice he had seemed at first. How loving and tender but then how everything had changed and she had found out he was a child murderer. He had broken her trust in men and she had thought nobody could ever heal the wounds he had made inside.

* * *

Sam woke with a start and was surprised to see sunlight flooding in through the window. She felt like she had only just shut her eyes minutes ago, not hours.

The nurse walked over to her.

"Good morning Samantha, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Much better thankyou" she replied, raising herself into a sitting position.

"Well your free to go after you've eaten some breakfast" The nurse smiled and turned to leave but Sam called her back.

"Wait...could you make a phonecall for me please?"

"Of course. Who to?"

"Phil Hunter. Could you ask him to come and pick me up please."

Sam gave the nurse Phils number and slumped back against her pillows.

She had made her decision...


	13. True Love

Samantha forced down the watery eggs and cold toast then got dressed in jeans, a light blue top and a small jacket round her shoulders then she sat waiting for Phil to arrive.

He entered the ward and found Sam sat on the edge of the bed, ready and waiting for him. He felt a strange mix of emotions as he walked towards her. He was anxious, nervous and scared that she would reject him but at the same time, happy and elated from the fact that she had asked him above all others to take her home and to look after her. "That has to be a good sign" he thought as he reached her side.

"I'm ready to leave now" Sam said avoiding his eyes.

"Ok. Come on then. I'll take down to the car." Phil said offering her his arm. Sam glanced at it and hesitated for a second before linking her arm through his. Phils stomach did a backflip at her touch. He thought she was giving him all the right signals but he could never be sure when it came to Samantha.

She didn't seem to want to talk about the previous night and that suited Phil right down to the ground. He would rather forget that happened.

* * *

When they reached Sams house, she thanked Phil for the lift and stepped out the car.

"Right, I'm coming in with you" Phil said as he switched the ignition off and locked the doors.

"No. Thankyou Phil but I'll be ok"

"Sam this isn't negotiable. You shouldn't be on your own just now. I'm going to come in with you and make sure your ok."

Sam didn't have the strength to argue.

* * *

Ten minutes later,they were both sat on Sams sofa with mugs of steaming hot tea. It was silent and very awkward between them, neither really knowing what to say to each other.

It was Sam who made the first move.

"Erm...Phil...about last night..."

"Yeah, Sam before you say any more, I'm sorry I said that. It wasn't fair of me to put you in that position, especially after what you've just been through."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"But you did mean it?" Sam asked nervously.

Phil turned right round so he was facing her and looked right into her eyes.

"Yes. I meant it"

"Good...cause lately...erm...I-I've been having feelings for you too. I just never thought you'd return them. Thats why I was so shocked last night."

It was Phils turn to be shocked now. He just sat, staring into Sams sparkling eyes, his mouth slightly open, at a complete loss for words.

"So...m-me and you..." he managed to whisper "Are we together?"

Sam looked up into his gorgeous brown eyes and could see the love,affection and concern for her in them. She knew in that moment she would not have to worry about him cheating on her or leaving her. She knew he truly loved her.

"I'd like that" she said, putting her tea down and cuddling into him.

Phil wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair in a gentle, loving way. He couldn't believe his good fortune as he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair. The most beautiful woman in the world had just admitted she had feelings for him and agreed to go out with him. He tightened his grip on her and kissed the top of her head before resting his own on hers.

He felt like the luckiest man alive...


	14. A fright and a proposal

**Yay Its my birthday today!! Im 18 now. I feel old!

* * *

**

When Sam woke up the follwing morning, it took her a minute to work out why she was on the sofa or why an unconcious Phils arms were round her. A huge smile slowly spread across her face as she remebered the previous night and she snuggled back into Phil who automatically put his arms around her.

* * *

She awoke again a few hours later and immediately realised she was alone. Phil had left, presumably to go to work. She felt panicky and scared. She didn't want to be left alone here where Cooper had broken in and abducted her. She sat up and brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them close to her, breathing deeply to calm herself, feeling extremely vulnerable.

She heard a floorboard creak out in the hall and froze. Unable to move, she stared at the door in horror as it slowly creaked open.

Suddenly Sam regained the movement in her limbs and stood up, looking for something to defend herself with. Seeing nothing that would be of any use against Cooper, she resigned hersef to the worst...again.

A man entered the room and Sams eyes slowly travelled up to meet his. She stared up at him in shock, still breathing deeply and sharply.

"Phil" she whispered, barely audibly, as her voice broke with relief.

The smile that had been on Phils face as he entered vanished and was replaced with a look of concern. He put down the cups of tea he was holding and moved towards her, pulling her into a hug.

"Phil" she said again. "I thought...I thought..."

"Its ok" Phil said soothingly. "i know what you thought buts he's locked away now and he can't get to you." He could feel her trembling and felt exceedingly guilty that he had had that effect on her.

Without letting go of her, he walked her over to the sofa, sat her down, handed her the tea he had made then sat next to her with his arm round her shoulders.

"I th-thought you'd g-gone to work." Sam said, still shaking.

"You don't honestly think I'd leave you in this state, especially without saying goodbye do you?"

"No I don't. I'm sorry, I just panicked, thinking you were him. Why aren't you at work?"

"Jack gave me time off to look after you."

* * *

Phil stayed with Sam at her house every day for two weeks before they came to the agreement that Phil should just move in permanently because they were basically living together anyway but Phil had to keep going back to his house to change.

* * *

Sam went back to work not long after and was warmly greeted by everyone. They were all glad to see her back safe and well. Phil bent over backwards to make everything easy for her and went out of his way to protect her. Sam thought to herself she could never have coped had it not been for Phil...her hero.

* * *

Sixteen months had passed since Sam's abduction and her Phil were still very much in love. Everyone had congratulated them when they had told them they were an item.

"About time too" Jo had said. "Those two have been needing their heads banged together for a while now."

* * *

"Oi! Terry! In here a minute" Phil said one morning, pointing into the empty interview room.

"What do you think of this?" Phil asked pulling a ring out of his pocket.

"Wow its nice mate! You gonna ask Sam to marry you then?"

"Yeah. Today. In front of everyone"

"Bit risky" Terry laughed.

"Do you think she'll say no?" Phil asked anxiously.

"No I was joking. She'll definitely say yes. Congratulations!"

Phil put the ring back into his pocket and felt his heart leap as he spied Sam walking into CID with Jo. It was time.

He walked nervously towards her. She looked up, saw his pale face and was worried about him.

"You Ok?" she asked in a concerned tone as he approached her.

"Yeah I've never been better" he said with a smile. "Actually honey I've got something I need to ask you." He looked round at Terry for moral support and saw him watching them. He winked at Phil who turned back round to Sam. He took a deep breath and got down on one knee.

Sam's face immediately paled.

"Sam I love you so much it hurts me inside. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you. Sam I would do anything for you if you asked me to. I would even die for you."

He paused and looked around. Neil had come out of his office to watch, Jack was stood by the door smiling and the rest of CID were staring at them gob smacked. He looked back at Sam whose smile was growing wider by the second.

"I thought I knew what love was until I met you. You showed me the true meaning of the word. You're my world Sam and I can't live without you. Samantha Nixon, would you do me the very great honour of becoming my wife?"

The whole of CID stood waiting for her answer with baited breath.

"I….y-yes of course I will!"

The room erupted, with everyone on their feet, cheering and whistling. Phil put the ring on Sam's finger, stood up and threw his arms around her, tears streaming down both their faces.

The cheering grew louder as more people entered the room to see what was going on and joined in.

Phil stood in the middle of them with his arms wrapped tight round his wife-to-be. The only woman he had truly loved and who had just agreed to become Mrs Hunter. He couldn't stop the tears coming as he thought how lucky he was. He looked down into Sam's tear stained face and kissed her gently. In that moment he knew what he had previously only thought…

He was the luckiest man alive.


End file.
